On Friday, the Packard Foundation unveiled the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum designed tour de force, one of two dozen platinum-certified buildings in the country. The building will house the foundation's central operations.

Established in 1964 by Hewlett-Packard co-founder David Packard and his wife, Lucile, the foundation provides grants to nonprofit organizations throughout the country, many of which support conservation efforts.

The unveiling of the project, overseen by structural engineering company Rhodes/Dahl, designed by San Francisco-based architectural firm EHDD and built by DPR Construction, marked the end of a 5﻿1/2 ﻿-year effort to build the most environmentally sustainable headquarters possible.

The structure's LEED design seeks to minimize the building's environmental impact, even implementing a net-zero energy plan to ensure that through the use of solar power, the facility will offset 100 percent of its energy consumption.

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Not surprisingly, the building's environmentally sustainable features are extensive. The facilities will sport a water irrigation and filtration system called a "rain garden," one of the first of its kind, that reduces the company's water usage by 40 percent by using rainwater that has been filtered by plants. With floor-to-ceiling windows, skylights and roof overhangs that prevent glare, the building is able to harness the sun's rays as opposed to using electricity to light their offices. And in an interesting twist, eucalyptus trees salvaged from the Doyle Street project in San Francisco were recycled to make the building's doors.

Carol Larson, the Packard Foundation's president and CEO, said the new headquarters provides an opportunity to showcase the central mission of the organization -- to make a positive influence.

"For decades, the foundation has focused on preserving, conserving, restoring the Earth's ecosystems," she said. "This building sets a new mark for that."

The building, in total, cost roughly $37.5 million to build.

Whether or not Mother Nature had a hand in its design, Susan Packard Orr, chairwoman of the foundation's board of trustees, hopes the new headquarters will inspire others to build environmentally sustainable facilities in the future.

"It was very important to us to set an example, and to build something that was replicable," she said.